© Jodi FredianiA woman snaps a photo of a young gray whale on Wednesday that washed ashore at Pajaro Dunes Beach on the southern end of Santa Cruz County.
The whales — one at the northern end of the county and the other at the southern end — were first reported Wednesday, but officials couldn't conduct necropsies when they were reported because of the tide, said Terri Sigler, marine mammal stranding coordinator for Long Marine Lab.
A necropsy conducted Thursday on a 40-foot adult gray whale that washed ashore near Waddell Beach near Davenport couldn't determine the cause of death, Sigler said.
The team did say there was no evidence of the animal dying because of a ship strike or entanglement and likely was dead for at least a couple of days, she said.
"Because of the incoming tide, the necropsy was curtailed," said Sigler, though an abridged version was performed.
Comment: Since the turn of the year there have been an alarming number of dead whales of various species washing up on the west coast of North America, see below -
Dead sperm whale found on beach in Pacifica, California
Dead killer whale found near Fort Bragg, California
Fin whale found dead in San Pedro harbor, California
Dead grey whale washes up near Ucluelet, Canada
Humpback whale found dead near Westport, Washington
Dead Humpback whale washes ashore in Monterey, California
Dead gray whale found off Torrey Pines State Beach, California
Beached pygmy sperm whale dies at Point Reyes, California
Dead gray whale discovered at Seattle ferry terminal
14 whales and 16 turtles wash up dead on Baja California Sur coast